Tolvo,

A couple thoughts that might help you out in addition to the great advice you've already gotten, this is at the risk of Capt. Sal accusing me of being a fluke expert which I'm not. Just my .02 to someone asking for advice. I agree with one poster that basically said switch it up, what fluke are feeding on and as a result what works can and in many cases changes day to day. Whether it's the offering itself, size or color or all of the above, they can all factor into the equation. The type of bottom your fishing on will impact your offering as well. Meaning I learned a long time ago that buck tailing is good on hard bottom, not so much if your fishing an area of the bay with mud. The erratic movement of the bucktail in many ways imitates a hurt or struggling fish, fishing a bt in mud will not give your presentation the same action and my experience is it's not nearly as effective as bait when fishing muddy bottom conditions. I think as far as size in general in the bay versus ocean it seems like smaller presentations work better. I would assume this is because bait in general in bays, spearing, killies, shrimp etc are smaller than most baits found in the ocean as in squid, bergalls, baby blackfish, baby sea robins etc. Tide will influence bt size as well since you have to be on bottom. Stronger drift, bigger bt. I know a few guys who fish gulp shrimp in the bays with a high degree of success. Believe they fish a standard bt on the bottom and teaser a foot or so above the bt with the gulp shrimp or a 3 inch gulp swimming minnow. In the ocean I almost always use 6 in. swimming shad and or 6 in. grub with a 3 oz bt, most days larger baits work better but even in the ocean some times that not the case. Definitely as others have mentioned, keep an eye on whose catching. Color sometimes doesn't matter but there are days were it's the most important factor in catching. Bait might cause this or more so I believe water clarity. If the water is stained, go with colors which stand out more, chartreuse, pink, orange etc. In clear water, white, glow, work very well but in dirty stained water these colors sometime are difficult for fluke to see. Most important pay attention to wind and tide. Fluke, like trout, will feed into the current. If you have a wind against tide situation and the wind is the dominant factor of your drift, you need to account for that in your presentation. Meaning if you have an outgoing tide (north to south) and a southeast south or southwest wind strong enough to cause a south to north drift, your presentation based on your drift will come up from behind the direction fluke are facing. In those conditions, try casting north and work your bt back to the boat which will keep your presentation in the fluke's strike zone. That's hard to do on party boats if railed unless your fishing the bow pulpit but on a private boat I've seen many days when this makes all the difference in the world. Your presentation needs to be approaching fluke in the direction the current is moving as they're waiting for bait to be swept to them. Pay attention to tide. Fluke will feed on different parts of a tide and sometimes depending on water temperature only one tide. In my opinion, a strong tide congregates bait fish and typically they hug the bottom or stay around structure to stay out of the current. This is when the bait is most balled up and near bottom. When the tide slacks, bait disperses and in many cases the bite will stop until the tide turns the other way and again that is greatly impacted by temperature swings in the area your fishing. In the spring on flood tide, colder ocean water will be brought into the bay and at times kill the bite. Outgoing will have the opposite effect. Later in the summer when water temperatures rise, it's the reverse.

If you fish the bay primarily, overall I'd go smaller with your presentation and understand your bottom structure and water temps. Hard bottom I'd bt with as small a bt as needed to hold. Consider using 3 in gulp swimming minnows and or shrimp. Have different colors and try them until you find one they like that day. If your on soft or muddy bottom, live bait (snappers, peanuts, killies, with or without a strip) might be a better choice. The exception would be if you're fishing the bay but in the channels like Ambrose or Sandy Hook. Strong currents will require bigger presentations and definitely more weight. The other bait we always have on board which I think is one of the best fluke baits there are is salmon belly strips. If you buy salmon and skin it, cut the skin into strips. If you buy the salmon whole, use the skin and belly flaps for strips. They are great baits for the bottom bt. The oil they give off is unreal and fluke love them.

Don't be afraid to change things up as others have said what works one day might not work at all the next. Keep an eye out around you and pay attention to the details for those catching, there's usually something they're doing a little differently that might not be completely obvious. And one last point when buck tailing, try to stay as vertical as you can. if you have a lot of line out and are pulling the bt at too much of an angle, it won't have the same action as having it right below you vertically. That's where having the right size bt based on your drift is important. Stay as vertical as you can, you'll have a better presentation of a crippled or hurt bait fish and more control over the bt. If you're out too far, reel in and start over or when you can cast up current and give yourself more time to work the bt properly.

Hope this helps you put more fish in the box. GL.